A Pakistan court on Friday has sanctioned bail to the man who destroyed the statue of Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the Lahore Fort in the country.
According to The Express Tribune, counsel of the defamed Rizwan briefed the court that the police completed their probe and have recovered a hammer from his possession. The victim was captured on Tuesday, according to Samaa TV.
The demolition has happened for the third time in recent years. Ranjit Singh’s statue was also demolished in December 2020.
The nine-foot-tall structure in cold bronze was unmasked at the Lahore Fort on June 27, 2019, to identify the previous ruler’s 180th death anniversary.India has criticized the demolition of the statue.
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Manjinder Singh Sirsa also criticized the incident, stating Pakistan’s extremists have once again hurt Sikh sentiments by vandalising Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue.
“I have notified Jt Secretary, Minister of External Affairs (PAI) JP Singh about this event who has ensured me that he would follow this matter with Pakistan embassy in India and request them to take a strict action to suppress such hateful vandalising events,” Sirsa said in a video posted on his Twitter handle.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, known as Lion of Punjab, Singh was the premier Maharaja of the Sikh Empire who ruled over Punjab for close to four decades.
